The rath at Knockaunbaun measures roughly 52.5 metres north to south and 51 metres east to west, making it a substantial example of the form. A rath is an early medieval enclosed farmstead, typically dating from the first millennium AD, in which a raised bank and sometimes a ditch defined a circular or near-circular living space. Here, that bank survives from the north-north-west around through the east and south, with the remainder of the enclosure marked by a lower, less pronounced scarp.

What gives this particular site a small puzzle to consider are the two opposing gaps in its perimeter, one at the north and one at the south. The northern gap, about four metres wide, is clearly a later intrusion, worn or cut through at some point after the rath fell out of use. The southern gap is narrower, at roughly 1.9 metres, and may well be original, a deliberate entrance made when the place was still inhabited and in use. Adjoining the monument on its south-east and south-south-west sides is a semicircular platform about 25 metres in diameter. Its relationship to the rath is not certain, but it may have served some associated function, perhaps as an outer enclosure or working area connected to the main settlement.

The site sits in fair condition, which in the context of earthworks means the essential shape is still legible in the ground even where time and agricultural pressure have softened the edges. Reading the landscape here requires a degree of patience; the bank and scarp are not dramatic features, but once your eye adjusts to the low relief of the terrain, the outline of the enclosure becomes easier to trace, and the question of what that southern entrance once opened onto begins to feel a little more immediate.